Osten beats Coutu in 19th District Senate race

Democrat Cathy Osten won the 19th District State Senate seat on Tuesday, defeating Republican Chris Coutu by 1,216 votes. After announcing the final vote totals to supporters at TJ’s Cafe in her hometown of Sprague, Osten embraced state Sen. Edith Prague, D-Columbia, the person she will replace in the Senat...

Democrat Cathy Osten won the 19th District State Senate seat on Tuesday, defeating Republican Chris Coutu by 1,216 votes.

After announcing the final vote totals to supporters at TJ’s Cafe in her hometown of Sprague, Osten embraced state Sen. Edith Prague, D-Columbia, the person she will replace in the Senate. Prague was senator for 18 years before retiring earlier this year.

Osten also thanked her family and mentioned that her grandfather ran for the State Senate in 1965 but lost.

“Thank you, senator,” said Osten, who is Sprague’s first selectman. “Thank you, Mom. Everyone put their heart and soul into this campaign. I’m taking this seat back for my family.”

Coutu, a two-term state representative from Norwich, called Osten shortly after 10:30 p.m. and congratulated her. The margin of victory was 51.63 percent to 48.37 percent.

Speaking to family and supporters at the Harp & Dragon Pub in Norwich, Coutu said “I told her ‘You won, good luck and God bless you.’ I’ve always said a benefit of losing would be to spend more time with my family.”

Osten will make a fine senator, Lebanon resident Marsha Olszta said.

“She (Osten) is not afraid to speak her mind,” Olszta said. “She really knows her stuff.”

The campaign was wide-ranging, encompassing issues from jobs to personal finances. The candidates even debated whether they had debates when they competed for a General Assembly house seat two years ago with Osten accusing Coutu of ducking one-on-one debates and Coutu responding with a list that included at least six debates and candidate forums. Coutu won the 2010 race.

Soon after Osten defeated state Rep. Tom Reynolds, D-Ledyard, in the Democratic primary in September, Coutu challenged Osten to debate, a challenge she accepted.

Like other campaigns, jobs was the headline issue with Coutu favoring an easing of government involvement through 1 percent annual decreases in state spending while Osten called for continued collaboration between businesses and government. Coutu defended his vote against a “jobs bill” crafted by Democratic Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and supported by Democratic and Republican leaders of the General Assembly. Connecticut’s rising unemployment rate and multi-million-dollar budget deficit was cited by Coutu as proof that he was right to vote no even though he was the only legislator to do so. Osten called it “an ideological vote” in declaring her ongoing support for the measure.

Osten defended her history as a Department of Correction union president, saying she will continue to “stand by the middle class.” Coutu said Osten would not put her state pension at risk to help the overall fiscal health of Connecticut, something she denied.

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Reducing management and project requirements in the state departments of Transportation and Energy and Environmental Protection would lower state spending and free up more money for education, Osten said. She also said reducing electricity consumption would shrink the government burden. Pursuing Medicaid fraud as well as cutting spending across the board offer much more savings, Coutu said.

Coutu’s campaign ethics were hit by a complaint from a Glastonbury lawyer who said finances from Coutu’s aborted U.S. Congressional campaign were not properly separated from his State Senate effort and a campaign flyer was chosen to be reviewed by a military ethics lawyer chiefly over the use of in-uniform photos of Coutu, who is an active National Guard officer.

Coutu responded that his military service was under the attack by the Osten campaign. Osten is an Army veteran.

Osten defended her town’s credit worthiness after Coutu pointed out that Sprague might be downgraded because of a waning reserve fund. Osten said she was proud of her record of holding down town property taxes. Coutu said his tenures on the Norwich City Council and in the General Assembly showed his budgetary record to be more favorable to small business owners and ordinary citizens. In criticizing the Malloy administration, which pushed through the largest tax increase in Connecticut history, Coutu called for an end the governor’s First Five business program which the Republican called “corporate welfare.”

Coutu also called on Malloy to suspend a prison early release program after a Meriden convenience store worker was allegedly killed by an early release prisoner. The governor declined to do so. Osten said an appeal by Coutu to join him on the issue was not genuine or honestly offered.

The 19th district covers all of or part of 10 towns including Columbia, Franklin, Lebanon, Ledyard, Lisbon, Montville, Norwich, and Sprague.